it was time to drive a little further to explore other
valleys and appreciate what else the area had to offer.

First an early morning walk . . . well a short walk out
at breakfast time to exercise the dogs.

Opposite the hotel is the Church of St John the Evangelist,
a classic old building that has served the community here for many centuries.

Harry and Bethan wait outside as I call in for a look.

Ancient Yew trees line the path to the door.

Inside it has simple but classic Church architecture.

A free standing candelabra.

Beautiful light flooding in through the windows.

The walked continued on to the top of Foreland Hill

to achieve the purpose of the outing . . . to give the
dogs (and myself) a stretch after their night's sleep.

Lynmouth with blue skies this morning . . . the tide is
high this morning and the harbour entrance full of water.

A small day sack packed, we ventured out to
Heddon Valley.

This is one of the valleys crossed on the
SW Coast Path.

At the head of the valley, and the start of our walk,
Hunter's Inn.

The present Inn dates from about 1900 and replaced an
earlier thatched Inn that was destroyed by fire.

It has been a focal point of the valley and an important
hotel for the area for hundreds of years.

Colourful locals adorn the flower beds.

Old iron finials framed by a modern TV-dish
behind.

The deep valley of Heddon's Mouth.

At its beach, an old lime kiln.

Ann sits and contemplates the view.

The beach would have been used to land Limestone from
South Wales which was heated in the kiln and changed to quick lime that
would eventually be spread on the soil of this area as an acid neutraliser
and therefore improve fertility. It would also have been used to import
produce at a time where road transport in the area was difficult.

The return cargo for South Wales could have been as diverse
as timber or the iron industry, livestock or even wine imported from from
France.

- - - o o o - - -

On the map was a feature named as "course
of old railway".

There used to be a railway from Lynton to the
main line at Barnstaple in the old days and I was just thinking
it would be great if someone could reinstate it as a tourist line
similar to the Little Railways of Wales or La'al Ratty in Eskdale.

- - - o o o - - -

Lo and behold . . . we came across a sign to Woody
Bay Station.

A group of enthusiasts has been formed to do just
that.

- - - o o o - - -

The first phase involved buying the old station and a
mile of track to start the rebuild.

This is one of their service trains used to build and
extend the railway.

Woody Bay Station . . . a few enthusiasts and visitors
sheltering from a passing rain shower.

The line is in steam today.

They have a replica Lynton & Barnstaple steam engine
of the type that used to work the line.

It is drawing an original but fully restored Lynton passenger
carriage and a second similar carriage from another line.

The driver's cab has the firebox and all the
classic controls.

It was built at Boston Lodge (Porthmadoc)
and finished this year.

- - - o o o - - -

The line currently offers steam trips of about a mile
or so and needs to build a couple of road bridges

before it can extend itself onto the rest of the old track
bed, much of which it has bought or has options to buy.

With funding, loads of enthusiastic assistance and maybe
a bit of good fortune they hope to extend the line all the way to Barnstaple.

The other end of the line is the old station at Lynton
which we passed on our way back to the Blue Ball Inn.

If the Tallyllyn and the West Highland Railway in Wales
can have a complete rebuild, they figure they should be able to make it.

After an initial walk across the farm fields at the top
of the hill, where incidentally I had a close encounter with both deer
and a buzzard last evening (sorry no pictures - camera back in the car),
this afternoon's footpath headed down through some delightful Sessile
Oak woodlands and down several large zig-zags towards the East Lyn river.

The last of the zigs brought Bethan and I out at a small
car park.

This turned out to be the staff parking for Watersmeet
House, now a National Trust owned property and tearooms.

Originally a hunting lodge, the property now has a NT
shop and serves a grand cup of tea.

[ I only stopped by for a cuppa to avoid a passing rain
shower you understand ]

The two footbridges at the true meeting of the waters.

The left one is the East Lyn and the other is quaintly
known as Farley Water (no relation of lemon ..... )

An old bridge footing just down from the house . . .

. . . has a lovely small waterfall when viewed from the
other direction.

The relatively modern road bridge spanning the river was
a little further down.

What went down must come up so I had a steep climb back
up through the trees to the left

in order to regain the high ground.

That brought me out on the summit of Wind Hill and almost
on a par with the Inn.

It was a short walk through the ancient earthworks that
once protected this smaller top (the gorse covered banks seen here)

and back across the fields to the left, thus avoiding
the road walk for both of us.